Would You Take Me with You?
by Renier1151
Summary: Bender is back in detention and there are some new faces, but what does he care?  Rated M for Cussin', drugs, and child abuse references
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Soooo, this is my first story, so excuse any oddities that may occur, and please don't hesitate to let me know, tis the only way to learn.  
><strong>I don't own anything<strong> except my original chars. (Cora and Meg) everything else belongs to Universal and the writers and whatnot.  
><strong>Rated M<strong> for cussin', drugs, and references to child abuse.  
><strong>Summary:<strong> Bender is back in detention and there are some new faces, but what does he care? (M for cussin', drugs, child abuse)  
>here goes nothin'... <p>

Bender sauntered into the library just like every other Saturday. A girl sat at the table behind his usual with her head on the desk. Bender didn't pay her much notice and plopped down in his seat. Looking around the library he wondered why he even bothered serving these detentions. He could just skip them and no one would really care. Except Vernon. He would blow a gasket and probably end up suspending him eventually. Bender was convinced that he came in just for the kicks of riling up Vernon and the rest of the detention crowd.

A minute later Andy slouched into the room.

"Ya miss me sporto?" Bender asked, surprised to see the wrestling champ.

"Shut up Bender." He plopped down into the desk in front of the delinquent.

"Those are fighting words boy." Andy didn't turn around. Bender was slightly interested now. Andy tended to be easily angered, but now he was barely ticked by Benders words. "What's the matter State Champ? Lose your scholarship? Daddy angry?" Andy turned quietly.

"Ya know I expected you to be the last person to bring my father into something. I thought that was the one thing we got about each other…" Andy stopped from saying something but then gave up. "Prick." Bender smiled at him.

"Just making sure you weren't a zombie…" He paused, "dipshit." Andy turned around again. Bender took his coat off and leaned back in the chair. Moments later Allison turned up and Andy stood in surprise. She was back to her old self, her hair in her face and her eyeliner thick. Bender watched her shuffle back to her normal seat and then looked to Andy. He had sat back down and made no attempt to talk to her, but he didn't take his eyes off Allison. Bender was about to ask Andy what was going on, but Vernon walked in.

"Well, Well, Well." Bender rolled his eyes and Andy whipped around in his seat. "Here we are again." Bender heard the girl behind him sit up straighter. "Today you will be writing an essay about what you did and why it's important not to do it again." Vernon started passing out paper and pencils. "1000 words. There will be no moving from the seat you are in," Bender watched Vernon as he passed, "No talking," Vernon eyed Bender, "And absolutely no sleeping." He said as he slammed the pencil down in front of the unknown girl who looked like she was about to nod off. She narrowed her eyes a Vernon but didn't say anything. "I'll be right across the hall, so no funny business." He said looking at Bender again. Didn't he ever get tired of giving the same speech every Saturday?

"Yes Captain Manilow, Sir!" Bender said saluting Vernon. Vernon made the 'I'm watching you' sign at Bender and left the library. Bender whistled long and low. He again turned his attention to Andy. "So, Sporto." Andy rolled his neck. "You and the missus have a fight?" Without another look at Bender, Andy got up and went to the second level of the library. Bender turned to Allison, but she had her head buried in her arms. Bender sighed and remembered that there was another person in the room. He turned to the girl behind him who was giving him a quizzical look.

"You their relationship counselor or something?" Bender shuffled his chair around so he was sitting across the table from her.

"You a world class spy?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "We'll seeing as you're sniffing around in other people's business…"

"It's more my business than yours." She replied. "Allison is a friend of mine."

"Oh so you're a liar now too?"

"What?"

"Allison doesn't have any friends." Allison got up and stormed off to another part of the library. Bender just watched her go.

"Wow, you must be a world class jerk." She said leaning back in her chair. "You like hurting people's feelings? Get a kick out of it?"

"No." Before he could say anything else she got up and walked to the back of the library. He watched as she threw a look over her shoulder at the front of the library. She was out of Vernon's line of sight. At the back of the library there was an emergency exit that was always locked from the outside. She opened it a crack and peered out. After a second she opened it the rest of the way and a girl slipped in. They talked in hushed tones for a minute and then walked over the direction Allison had gone. Bender decided to follow. He had never seen anyone sneak someone else into detention before, unless you counted that one weird kid that snuck a frog in…

He slowly rounded a stack of books and was met with the sight of all three girls hunkered down on the wall. Allison was in the middle and watching Bender. The girl who had snuck in was to her right and looked up when Allison did. She rose after a second of watching him and tapped the other on the shoulder. When she looked up at Bender she looked a little less angry. They left Allison and Bender alone.

"I told them you were just repeating what I told you." Allison sniffed.

"Friends of yours?" Bender asked incredulously.

"We call each other different things. I call them acquaintances."

"Right." Bender said slowly. "The short haired one seems to think you're friends."

"And the other calls us sisters." She stood up. "I know you had an argument with Cora, she should be alright now." She walked up to Bender. "I'm sorry I stormed off, I was upset about Andy. You've been really nice to me ever since the first detention, I should have given you some sort of explanation."

"Better late than never." Bender said.

"Andy and I had an argument about whether or not he really wanted to be with me. We're not on good terms right now."

"Hmmm."

"Would you talk to him?" She asked pointedly.

"What?"

"Just tell him that I'm sorry and I want to talk to him."

"Why don't you just go talk to him?" Bender asked, not wanting to get in the middle of their drama.

"He won't talk to me."

"So send one of you _acquaintances_." Bender said hotly.

"They've never even met Andy, you've talked to him before, besides, you're a guy you'd be better to talk to him." Bender looked up at the ceiling. "Please." She said in her curt way. Bender sighed.

"We'll see." With that she slipped past him and he followed her back to the desks. When they got there the girl that had snuck into the library was sitting at one of the desks brushing her long blond hair. She was pretty enough to be a cheerleader, but her mannerisms were not as polished. Besides he had never seen in a uniform.

The other girl was standing at the front desk of the library drumming her fingers on the counter. Bender joined her and looked at where her gaze met the top of the cupboards.

"Lose something?" He asked. She turned to him, running a hand through her short, dirty blond hair.

"No, I'm finding something." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Old Lady Patton likes to keep a stash of chocolate around the library, I'm trying to remember the last place she hid it." She closed her eyes and a second later they snapped open. "Ah!" In one move she jumped the desk and was climbing the back counter reaching on top of the cupboards. Soon she produced a small brown bag. "Breakfast girls!" She jumped the desk again, shaking the bag. Allison and the blond girl looked up. "Megan, catch." She tossed the bag to the blond. Opening it she produced multiple candy bars.

"You never disappoint, Cora dear."

"I live to serve." She said with a little bow, making her hair fall into her face. When she stood again she had to push it back. "Want some?" She said turning to Bender who had watched the whole exchange with a small smirk on his face. He walked with Cora over to the other two. He grabbed some licorice and a chocolate bar. Looking at Allison and giving her a small nod he headed up the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

He found Andy in one of the booths, head on the desks fast asleep. Bender opened the door but didn't stir. "Sporto!" Andy's head shot up off the desk.

"Jesus, Bender." He said rubbing his eyes.

"Here, maybe it'll wake you up." He said throwing the candy bar in front of Andy. Andy looked at him incredulously. "Don't worry I got it from Allison's acquaintances."

"Who?"

"Just eat the candy, Sporto." Andy gave up and unwrapped the chocolate. They were quiet for a minute.

"Allison sent you up here, didn't she?" Andy said eyeing Bender.

"Would I talk to you on my own Sporto? I don't…"

"Even speak your language. I know." Andy said cutting him off. His words didn't have much fight, but he stood and tried to leave the booth. Bender grabbed his shirt and pushed him back towards the chair.

"Sit down, dumb ass." He sat down and ran his hand over his face. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me it was her!"

"Believe me, no matter what we think, it's always our fault." Andy scoffed. "So…?"

"Allison has it stuck in her head that I'm using her." Andy admitted looking at the ground.

"Are you?"

"No!" His anger was rising. "I would never do that to her. She's just so paranoid."

"Well, living in the shadow of people like you tends to make that happen. Think of it from her angle."

"Don't you think I have?" Andy retorted. "I mean I never even knew her name before that detention and now were together… But I'm treating her just like I would any other girl." He sighed.

"Are you?" Andy stopped and thought about it. He really only ever saw her outside of school. When he was at school he was always with his friends and he had never really introduced her to them. Why hadn't he?

"I've been trying to separate her… haven't I?" Bender just shrugged. "To protect her?" Bender shrugged again taking another bite of licorice. He and Andy sat in silence for a minute. "How's Clair?" Bender had to laugh.

"Sporto I couldn't care less about that chick."

"You dumped her didn't you?"

"Dropped her like second period French." Bender replied. "She may have been the most shallow person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." Bender stood to exit the room. "Which is why you should hang on to Allison. However crazy that chick is, she might be good for you." With that he left the room and closed the door behind him. Andy sat and thought about the conversation. He had been keeping Allison away from his friends. He had believed that their reaction to him going out with Allison would hurt her feelings, because he knew his friends would not react well. But she was a big girl, she could handle a little judgment, and he would always be there to back her, no matter what. Bender had knocked some sense into him. _ Bender._ Andy sighed and left the room, finally knowing what to say to Allison, or at least hoping he knew.

Cora stared at the ceiling as she lay on the back desk.

"So, Alli." She didn't get a response, but she knew her friend was listening. "What's with this Bender guy? He an acquaintance of yours?"

"Can we trust him, you mean?" Allison responded.

"Something like that."

"Would you stop talkin'" Meg said from the seat at the desk Cora was on. A mirror was rested against Cora's side, which Meg was using to put on some makeup. "I can't see where I'm putting this eyeliner, I'm gonna stab myself in the eye."

"Sorry, dear." Cora replied.

"He's volatile, but his situation puts him in the trust range. Make your own choice." Allison responded and went back to biting her fingernails.

"Allison?" The voice was quiet. Cora sat up to see Andy hovering at the bottom of the stairs. "Can we talk?" He said haltingly. Allison turned to the other girls. Cora shrugged but Meg mouthed _go!_ Allison rolled her eyes and got up, brushing past Andy towards the back of the library.

"Kids these days." Cora said before lying back down. Minutes later Bender was back downstairs. "I'm bored." Cora mumbled to the ceiling.

"Nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy." She sat up and eyed him.

"Truer words have never been spoken. When's Vernon getting back?" She asked. Bender looked at the clock.

"Ten minutes till lunch." Bender said.

"We should probably get Andy and Allison back here." Cora said hopping off the table.

"I'll get 'em, I gotta split anyways." Meg said getting up. She made her way towards the back of the library. Halfway there she turned around and made a face at Cora. She pointed at the corner of the library and then pushed her hands together wiggling them around a bit then rolled her eyes.

"Jeeze, what did you say to Andy?"

"Not much." Bender replied. Seconds later Allison and Andy returned to the front of the library holding hands and smiling like idiots.

"I guess your hearts not dead yet, huh Allison?" Cora asked as she watched the two separate and sit at their desks. "Spit swapping keeping it alive?"

"Very." Allison replied; her mood much improved from the morning. Cora rolled her eyes in disgust. "You could do for some."

"Please." Cora chuckled. "I don't need men to make me happy."

"Oh, so you're batting for the other team? I knew something was different about you."

"Shut up, Bender." Cora said, pretty much ignoring him.

"I mean, there's nothing wrong with liking other women. Is that why your friend Meg was here?"

"Fuck you." She said, starting to get offended.

"Oh, but I'm not your type."

"I swear to God…"

"Hey!" They all swung around to look at Vernon. "Shitheads." He mumbled under his breath. "You have exactly a half hour for lunch. You." He said pointing to Andy. "And you." He pointed to Cora. "Drinks from the teacher's lounge, go." Andy and Cora stood, Cora surreptitiously flipping off Bender as she passed.

"Are you really…?" Andy raised his eyebrows at Cora.

"What?" She acted like she didn't know what he was asking.

"Ya know, batting for the other team?" He asked, using Bender's line.

"I'm not a lesbian." She said pushing open the door to the teachers lounge.

"Oh." He responded dumbly.

"Ya know, not everything that jerk says is true."

"Well, you did say you didn't need a man to make you happy… and, no offence, you're not the picture of perfect femininity." She stated at him. "I mean, the short hair and…"

"Allison's is only about an inch longer." She cut him off.

"And the lack of makeup."

"I'm allergic to most of it."

"And the clothes?" He had gone from explaining himself to asking for and explanation.

"They're more comfortable." She was often seen in large plaid shirts and jeans. "I hate skirts." Andy nodded and then went to the vending machine. Cora turned and scoped the back cupboards. Opening them she saw that they were mostly full of dishes and other crap, but on the top of one of the shelves was a box. She climbed up on the counter.

"What are you doing?" Andy asked.

"Getting lunch." She responded. She snatched the box off the top shelf and saw it was half filled with donuts. She found a bag in one of the draws and put them in then slid the bag up her shirt and tucked it into her pants a little so they wouldn't fall out. She then surveyed the fridge finding some hard-boiled eggs. She picked up two and scrutinized them. Neither was cracked. She smelled them and they seemed all right so she put one up each sleeve. Finally she picked up four cheese sticks and shoved them in her pocket. "Try carting this stuff in a cardigan." She smiled.

Andy chuckled and held open the door for her, four cokes in hand. When they got back to the library Vernon was back in his office. Allison had her lunch out and was fiddling with her sandwich. Andy grabbed his grocery bag full of food and joined her. Cora eyed his lunch hungrily for a second and then turned to Bender. He had his head on his desk and didn't seem to have any food. She remembered what Allison had said about his situation being similar.

She slammed a coke down next to him, not being quite over his accusations earlier, but not wanting him to starve either. She slid the bag of donuts out of her shirt as he slowly sat up. After removing the two eggs she sat down next to Bender. "Hungry?" She asked without looking at him. She slid the donuts towards him as he sat with his mouth open.

"This your food?" He asked incredulously.

"No I swiped it from the teacher's lounge." She said as she cracked open one of the eggs. It looked grey on the inside. "Scratch the eggs." She said grabbing the other one and walking them to the trashcan. When she returned she saw Bender eying the food, but not touching it. She sat back down and turned to him. "Look," She said taking the cheese sticks out of her pocket. "I stole this food fair and square, and I definitely can't eat it all, so unless you have another meal waiting for ya…" She handed him two of the cheese sticks. He took them and she turned back to the table before he could respond.

"Thank you." He said quietly. They ate their lunch in silence. Bender didn't know what to say to Cora and Cora was simply too hungry to stop eating. When Mr. Vernon came back in to make sure they were done eating she quickly hid any evidence that might have looked incriminating.

"Bathrooms. I don't want any funny business. You've still got half the day to go." He warned before heading out into the hallway. The rest of them followed behind. Allison and Cora dragging behind the boys.

"So, did you make nice with Andy?"

"I guess Bender helped him realize what he was doing." Allison said, but quieted when Vernon threw a look over his shoulder. She didn't speak again until they were in the bathrooms. "I guess he was just trying to protect me." Allison explained. Cora rolled her eyes. "He's really kind of sweet."

"I think he's kind of a meat head." Cora said over the sound of the toilet flushing. She came out of the stall and washed her hands. Allison quickly joined her.

"You think all guys are meat heads."

"Because they are." Cora defended herself.

"Well Andy was just trying to help me, even if he was going about it in the wrong way."

"You girls hurry up in there!" Vernon yelled. Allison sighed and they both slouched out of the bathroom and rejoined the guys. Once back in the library Vernon sat them down, gave them another warning look and then left, venturing away from his office to roam the halls.


	3. Chapter 3

"Doesn't that man have anything better to do with his Saturdays than baby sit us?" Cora asked.

"No, he still lives in his mother's basement and builds forts out of cardboard boxes. The guy is a manchild." Bender said rising from his seat and walking to the front entrance.

"Where are you going?" Cora asked.

"Wanna find out?" He smirked at her before slipping out the door. Cora turned around to find Allison and Andy locked in a deep staring contest. She rolled her eyes and ran to the door, cautiously sticking her head out. "Bender!" She whispered loudly down the hall. He stopped mid stride and turned. "Hold on." She lightly jogged down the hall to catch up. He smirked at her and continued down the hallway. They moved in a comfortable silence, Bender stopping her when they came to corners so he could check before they moved on. Their journey stopped in front of the shop room. Bender quietly opened the door and stuck his head inside. All was quiet with only the soft light from the high set windows to see by. They slipped inside and Cora slowly shut the door.

"What, did you suddenly feel the need to get in touch with your inner carpenter?" She said looking around the room.

"No, I feel the need to get high." Bender replied as they moved into the room.

"Plan on smoking the sawdust?" She looked around the room "Maybe sniffing the wood glue?" she finished sarcastically. Bender made his way over to the corner of the room where a large, old, birdhouse example sat. Reaching inside he pulled out a brown paper bag and from there extracted a baggie of pot. "Ah." She said.

He threw the bag in the trash and put the pot in his pocket. She didn't follow as he made his way towards the door. "I've always wanted to take shop." She stated running her hand over the table saw. Bender scoffed.

"_You_ want to take shop?" She looked over at him. Even in the dim light she could see the look of superiority on his face.

"Yeah, me."

"_You…?"_

"Yes! Why is that such a difficult concept for you?" She put her hands on her hips.

"I've never seen a girl take shop."

"Oh, I see. You don't think a girl can take shop." She crossed her arms. "We are just as capable as you men."

"A feminist, not to big a jump from a lesbian." He stated.

"I am not a lesbian!" She almost shouted, blood boiling. She was sick of stupid generalizations. "And I am not a feminist. I just hate sexist, womanizing, bastards!" Bender walked over to her.

"Ok, look." He started, not wanting her to blow up and attract Vernon's attention. "One, I can't help that ladies love me." She scoffed. "And two, it's not a matter of being a girl, it's just you need a certain stature to handle some of these tools. Maybe a bigger girl could make a decent grade here, but you…" He looked her over. The baggy shirt hid most of her body but the bones in her face, her far to prominent collarbone, and the boney wrists and fingers stuck out like a sore thumb. "How much do you weight?" He hadn't noticed until now how extremely thin she was. She didn't answer him. "You're about five two, right? What should you weigh? 120? 130?"

"110 is pretty healthy." She said hoping he would think that's what she weighed. From the look on his face he didn't think she did. He almost looked concerned. "Did you, um, evacuate your lunch in the bathroom there?" She flashed him a look of disgust before squeezing her eyes shut and pushing past him.

"I can't believe you." She mumbled. She was about to push open the door and leave Bender to his own devises when he softly caught her wrist. When he did he felt what his eyes had seen, she was nothing but skin and bones.

"Cora." He said quietly. She pulled away from him, but didn't leave. "Look, I don't know if your anorexic or what, but you should probably get some help."

"It's bulimia, not anorexia. Anorexics don't eat; bulimics do but don't keep it in. Besides, I'm neither. I still contain all the food I ate fifteen minutes ago." Bender had to smile a little at the fact that she had taken the time out of an argument to explain eating disorders to him. But he still needed to know what was wrong with her.

"Are you sick or something? High metabolism, what?"

"I'm poor, alright? Are you happy now!" She kept her voice down but he could sense that she wanted to scream at him. "I don't have enough money to be healthy looking." He stared at her with his mouth slightly open. "Let's get out of here before Vernon catches us." She left with Bender trailing after her. He didn't know if it was because he now knew her troubles or if it was his imagination, but she looked tired. She trudged down the hall with her hands in her pockets and her eyes on the ground. He started getting lost in his thoughts when an unwanted presence made itself known.

Bender grabbed Cora by the back of the shirt and clapped his hand over her mouth before she could make a sound. They stood stock still as they watched Vernon pass through the intersection ahead. When he was out of sight Cora pulled bender's hand off her mouth and whispered. "Where do we go?"

"Double back." Bender whispered as he pulled her back the way they had come. Once they were out of earshot he stopped. "I don't know where he's going but the quickest way back is through the gym."

"Alright then, let's go." Cora said starting down the hallway, but bender grabbed her shirt again. "Would you stop doin' that?" She scolded him as she fixed her shirt.

"I'm sorry." He said looking her straight in the eyes.

"It's alright, why'd you stop me though? We have to outrun manchild."

"No, I'm sorry… about what I said." He didn't break eye contact and it was slightly unnerving. She swallowed hard, caught off guard by an apology she never expected.

"Don't worry about it. Believe me, you wouldn't be the first to think that." He didn't say anything, just watched her as if what she said wasn't good enough. She decided to break it off, walking quickly down the hallway towards the gym. After a few steps she heard Bender follow. They were to the gym in no time and sprinted across the brightly lit room. When Cora pushed open the door she froze immediately. Bender ran into her and had to grab her around the waist to keep them both from falling over.

"What the hell…" Bender started and then looked up to see Carl the janitor on the opposite side of the hall giving them a quizzical look.

"Jeez… For a second I thought you were Vernon." Cora admitted sounding relieved. She elbowed Bender to get him to remove his hands from her waist, where they had frozen once he saw Carl.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the library?" He asked them with laughter in his voice.

"Pshhh." Cora said waving a hand at him. "Have you seen Vernon?" She asked quickly.

"Yeah, he was heading downstairs. You guys should be safe if you head back now." He paused. "How's your dad?" Cora shrugged.

"Same old same old, he wouldn't mind a visit though. I know you guys fought, but he was a little messed up after my mom left. He's gotten better." Carl nodded. "We should go." She said grabbing Bender by the jacket and dragging him away. "Thanks Carl!" She threw over her shoulder. He waved and smiled as the two skidded around the corner. They ran the whole way back and burst into the library out of breath.

"Where've you been?" Andy asked. Bender held up the bag of pot.

"Want some? You're much more interesting when your high." Bender said with a smirk.

"No thanks." Andy said after seeing the disapproving look from Allison. "I think once was enough."

"Suit yourself." Bender went over to the couch area and sat down.

"Did Vernon come in?" Cora asked Allison. She shook her head. "Okay, good. I need to sit." She said before stumbling over to the couches. As she did Allison dragged Andy away after seeing him eyeing Bender rolling a joint. When Bender finished he held it out to Cora. "No, thanks. You go ahead though." He gave her a disappointed look.

"It's no fun smoking by myself." He said with a fake pout. She shook her head. "Come on Cora, you a goody two shoes all the sudden?"

"Goody two shoes?" She said with a _did you really just say that_ look on her face.

"Shut up and smoke the joint." he said holding it out. She rolled her eyes and took it from him. She gently took a drag on it and handed it back to him, trying her hardest not to cough, but her lungs were burning. She couldn't do it. She released the smoke with a rattling cough. "I think we're going to have to compromise." She said after she caught her breath. "You got a cancer stick?"

"Cancer stick? What are you, eighty?"

"Shut up and give me your cigarettes." She replied mimicking his earlier tone.

Bender put the joint between his lips and dug around in his pockets until he produced a pack of cigarettes. He tossed them to her along with a book of matches. They both settled into the couches opposite each other lost in their respective clouds of smoke.

"Why do you smoke that stuff anyways?" She asked.

"To cope."

"What do you have to cope with?" She said with a little scoff.

"My parents." He said with a hard and unsettling look on his face. She stared back at him, but eventually he looked at his boots and took another drag off the joint. She stood up, now interested in the criminal sitting across from her. She stepped over the table between them and then plopped herself down next to him. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wanna talk about it?" He was silent for a minute.

"Why do you ware guy's clothes?" He asked defensively. Whatever was going on between him and his parents he did not want to talk about it, but Cora had nothing to hide. He could ask her a hundred questions if it got him to open up about his situation.

"They're my brother's old stuff, it saves money not to buy me new clothes." She admitted truthfully. Although what she told Andy was also the truth, they were more comfortable than skirts and the likes.

Bender sighed. He knew that she wasn't going to ask him about it again, but she was still waiting for an answer about his parents.

"My parents and I…" He took a minute to piece together his words. "Lets just say they're not to great at the whole nurturing thing." She sat silently as he chewed over his thoughts again. Taking another hit he sighed out a line of smoke. "I swear they had me just so they could beat me." She stiffened next to him.

"They've been doing this your whole life?" She asked quietly, not looking at him.

"Pretty much." He responded turning to her. She looked over at him then and saw that deep down he was tired.

"Your sick of it aren't you?" He stared at her for a second and then looked away. Putting the joint back in his mouth he flipped his sunglasses back on his nose and leaned back on the couch. She nodded and took another drag of the cigarette. Leaning back she turned to face him. "I'm sorry you have to live with that." He turned and looked at her.

"I'm sorry your poor." She smirked a little and he smiled and then they started laughing.

"We're fucked up." She said through her chuckles.

"Yeah... But who isn't?" She paused.

"Claire Standish?"

"Ha!"

"You sound like Allison."

"I can't help it. Claire is messed up, don't worry."

"She's still a lucky bitch." Cora said leaning forward to put her cigarette out under the table. "Can you imagine having all that money?" Bender just shrugged. "I wouldn't mind that." She said leaning back again.

"You want to be like Claire?" He asked incredulously.

"Well, no. Not really. I mean not having to worry about where your next meal is going to come from or if you're going to have a house when you get home would be nice. But I wouldn't want to be her personally. Too much makeup." Bender chuckled.

"The only reason you wouldn't be her is because of makeup?"

"Shut up, I'm allergic." She said elbowing him. " 'Sides, I wouldn't know what to do with it anyways."

"It's alright, you don't need that shit." He said offhandedly. He had no clue why he had said it, aside from it being true. Usually he didn't compliment girls unless he was trying to get in their pants.

"Hey, flattery isn't gonna get you anything." She said defensively. It was like she read his mind. He hated it when girls did that.

"I wasn't trying to…" He stopped trying to explain and sighed leaning his head against the back of the couch. After a second there was a soft pressure on his shoulder and he looked down to see Cora resting her head against him. "I thought you said flattery wouldn't get me anything."

"Shut up. I'm tired and you're the closest thing I have to a pillow." Bender smiled and stared up at the ceiling again. He had smoked the joint down and put it out with his fingers before flicking it behind him. He thought back on the last five minutes and wondered how she had got him to open up like that. He didn't feel like she was judging him, or pitying him. Usually when he told people about his problems he was flashing scars and screaming profanity. But he had just stated it, like it was nothing. Was it because he knew her story? Was it because she had been kind to him at lunch? Did he still feel bad about calling her a lesbian? Maybe he actually cared for her…

_Whoa there, you just met this chick and you don't know jack shit about her._ He rolled his eyes.

"Bender?" He barely heard her. "Do you ever think about leaving?"

"Yeah." He said quietly.

"Would you take me with you?" She whispered. She sounded exhausted and miserable. It killed him.

"Yeah." He responded. _Damn_. One Saturday with this chick and he already cared.


	4. Chapter 4

Feeling sleep override his brain he shifted and Cora barely moved. Closing his eyes under the glasses he drifted into a dream. It wasn't anything specific, but he felt warm, and safe. A soft glow was all he could see and in the distance he swore he could hear the ocean. After a while a voice broke through the waves and it sounded like Cora. It was nice. "Cora?" He said quietly. She kept talking but he couldn't understand what she said. Then he felt a shake, as if an earthquake had torn though his dream, and Cora's voice got louder. The cold that only came with reality started to seep through the tears in his dream state. Then a male voice could be heard. Muffled though it was he knew whom it belonged to. Another earthquake, this one stronger than the first, was accented by the guy talking again. "Bender, ya lazy pothead, get up!" Bender opened his eyes. His sunglasses were still on so they couldn't see that he was awake. Andy shook him again.

"Andy, you have five seconds to remove your hand from me, or I'll remove it from your arm." Bender said quietly.

"Mornin' starshine." Cora said in a vaguely southern accent. Bender's mouth quirked up but only for a second. He didn't move. He didn't want to move. He wanted to stay in that dream forever. "Vernon's gonna be in here in ten minutes… we should probably move." Bender just groaned.

"And you should probably hide your dope." Andy remarked. That got him up. He moved his sunglasses to the top of his head and snatched the bag from the table, stowing it safely away in his pocket again. Once he knew it was safely away he relaxed. He sighed deeply and ran a hand over his face trying to wake up more.

"Have a nice sleep?" Cora asked as Bender watched Andy walk back to his desk.

"Yeah." He said in a depressive tone. "Best sleep I've had in three years."

"I can understand that." Cora said. "Had a nice dream. I went to the beach." She smiled. "I love the beach." She said looking longingly off into the distance. Bender watched her and realized that after this detention he might not see her again. Sure they went to the same high school, but it was a big place, and one that he didn't even visit often. For some reason, something at the back of his mind told him not to lose touch with her. It's not even that he wanted to be with her, in a physical sense, that just seemed wrong, but he didn't want to lose her.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked her.

"Nothin…" She said, coming back to reality. "Just the fact that next Monday, we go back to school and none of this will have mattered." Bender was about to reply when Allison pounded her fist on the table and nodded towards the library door. Across the hall they could see Vernon stirring in his office. Quicker than lightning Cora was up off the couch and back at her table. Bender followed suit. As he passed Allison he noticed her scribbling quickly on the paper Vernon had passed out for them to write their essays, which, of course, none of them had written.

"I hope you all have had time enough to ponder your inadequacies." Vernon announced as he strode into the library.

"Yes, sir." Andy said mockingly and Vernon glared at him. Bender smirked to himself.

"Get out of here, and if I see any of you loitering in the halls," He paused and looked at Bender, "You'll have another two Saturdays." The group stood from their desks and filed out of the library. They walked in silence down the halls, knowing Vernon was standing at the door to the library watching them. Once they got outside Andy and Allison waved before heading down the driveway.

"Never did hear why they were both in today." Bender said as he watched them walk, hand in hand, down the drive.

"They broke up between 3rd and 4th period while shouting some non-school-approved words at each other. Right in front of Vernon's office." Cora explained.

"Cora!" They turned to see a young man walking towards them.

"Hey Ed."

"How was your Saturday?" He said as he approached.

"You know, the us—" She was cut off by her older brother.

"John Bender!"

"Ed Martin. Wait, you're a Martin?" Bender said turning to Cora.

"You know my brother?"

"He taught me everything I know!"

"Still giving Vernon hell?" Ed asked shaking Bender's hand.

"I should've known." Cora said. Ed laughed; he was always in good spirits.

"Come on, it's been hard enough trying to keep mom from looking for you, If she finds out you got a Saturday it'll be on my head." Ed said tugging his sister's shirt.

"Alright, alright." She nudged her brother. "Bye Bender."

"John." Ed nodded to Bender and he returned the gesture.

"Ed." They went their separate ways, buy after about ten paces Cora stopped.

"Keep going, I'll catch up." She turned on her heal and ran back towards Bender. "Hey!" She called once she got closer. "Bender!" He stopped and turned. "Look, I wanted to thank you, for not being a judgmental ass," She paused. "Most of the time." She added. He smiled a little.

"I am sorry for the things I said." He replied.

"No worries." She said before backing up a few steps and turning back around.

"Hey, Cora." She stopped and turned. "It does matter." She looked a little confused. "When you said that we'll go back on Monday and none of this will have mattered. It does." She beamed at him.

"See you on Monday Bender." She said before running back to her brother.

"Definitely."

Back in the school Vernon flicked off the switch in the back of the library and headed for the door. Along the way a paper on one of the desks caught his eye. He read in the dim light that slanted through the windows what was written there.

_What happens out there is necessary to bring us closer together in here. We will do whatever is necessary to make us who we are._

__  
><em>well, there it is. Love it or hate it. let me know. :)


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